“We drove it around and played some rounds, and then we left the golf cart there with the pro and the pro drove it for a couple weeks and he never charged it one time,” said Appleseed Energy president Brian Rose. “In fact, he got over 150 holes out of the golf cart without charging it.”

Rose, an avid golfer, said a cart powered by electricity will drive 27 to 36 holes on a single charge.

To create the solar invention, the company purchased a golf cart and replaced its roof with a photovoltaic panel that transfers the sun’s energy to a battery pack located behind the cart’s seats.

The company also tested the new roof’s durability as it charted across the steep and abundant hills at Dundee.

“Golf carts and solar fit perfectly together because people play golf when it’s generally good weather, they don’t play golf at night and they play golf in the summer,” Rose said.

“It saves money for (the) golf course, it’s a marketing idea for the golf course as well, and it just saves energy.”

Appleseed Energy, which employs four people, has been installing solar panels onto homes and cabins for over five years.

Additionally, Rose himself has lived with solar energy in his own house for 14 years.

He says solar power is becoming more and more attractive as the price of panels has dropped dramatically.

But don’t expect to be able to buy one of these solar-powered carts just yet. Rose said the company is still considering whether to retrofit existing carts or export panels to interested golf cart manufacturers.

“We’re just kinda getting past the prototype stage,” said Rose. “We wanted to test it and see how it worked in the field and how it was going to perform at a golf course.

“You don’t want things to loosen up or you don’t want the solar panel to crack or anything like that, and it doesn’t. It all worked perfectly. So now we’re just trying to figure out how to go about this.”

Rose admits the potential for business on an island that is world-renowned for its golf courses brings a certain thrill.

“I’m very excited about it,” said Rose. “It was actually more effective than what we imagined it would be. I think that once people … get a hold of it and use it, they would realize this.”